Gas injection for gas lighters

ABSTRACT

An injection valve for injecting a gas into a gas lighter or the like comprising a valve stem operable in a valve cylinder. The valve stem carries a resilient element which seals an opening in an injection passage in the valve stem. The resilient element is of a smaller diameter than the portion of the valve cylinder in which it operates to permit gas to pass between the resilient element and the cylindrical wall when the valve stem is being displaced from a closed to an injection position. However, when the valve stem reaches the injection position, the resilient element is deflected to expose the injection passage in the valve stem to permit liquified gas to pass therethrough.

United States Patent 1 Mizuguchi [30] Foreign Application Priority DataJuly29, 1969 Japan ..44/59824 [52] US. Cl 141/295, 137/322, 137/588,

141/305 [51] Int. Cl. B65l) 3/04, F23q 2/52 [58] FieldofSearch..l41/291296,302,305, 141/329, 330, 348, 349; 137/322, 588

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,265,102 8/1966 Yoshinaga141/330 X 3,133,565 5/1964 Ikeda 141/295 X FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 1,329,993 5/1963 France 141/293 1,167,080 4/1964 Germany141/294 OTHER PUBLICATIONS 1,167,080 German Printed Application 4-1964Maltner Primary ExaminerH0uston S. Bell, Jr. Att0rneyArn0ld Robinson[57] ABSTRACT An injection valve for injecting a gas into a gas lighteror the like comprising a valve stem operable in a valve cylinder. Thevalve stem carries a resilient element which seals an opening in aninjection passage in the valve stem. The resilient element is of asmaller diameter than the portion of the valve cylinder in which it0perates to permit gas to pass between the resilient element and thecylindrical wall when the valve stem is being displaced from a closed toan injection position. However, when the valve stem reaches theinjection position, the resilient element is deflected to expose theinjection passage in the valve stem to permit liquifled gas to passtherethrough.

4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures GAS INJECTION FOR GAS LIGHTERS Thisinvention is an improvement of an injection valve for injecting a gasinto a gas storage tank in a gas lighter.

There is already known an injection valve wherein, in injecting a gas,the interior of a storage tank and the atmosphere are in communicationwith each other so that the pressure of pressurizing gases such as theexpanded gas and expanded air may be reduced and the pressure differencebetween the pressurizing gases and the injected liquified gas may beincreased. In an injection valve for connecting the storage tank withthe atmosphere, an arrangement is usually employed where a gas isinjected simultaneously with the discharge of the pressurizing gases inthe storage tank by connecting the storage tank with the atmospherethrough the injection valve. Further, in this aforesaid arrangement, thepassage connected with the atmosphere for discharging and the gasinjecting passage are either separate or they are the same passage. Whenthe passages for the discharge and injection are separate, thestructure'becomes complicated, more susceptible to malfunctioning and ismore expensive to manufacture. On the other hand, when the dischargingand injecting passages are the same, the structure is simpler and thecost is lower than in the separate passages, but there are problems inthat the pressurizing gases cannot be discharged as easily and theinjection cannot always be achieved effectively.

Further, an arrangement is known in which the respective separatepassages for the discharge and injection are improved so that thepressuring gases in the storage tank may be first discharged through thedischarge passage and then the injection may be made through theinjecting passage. Such known arrangements, however, are notstructurally or operationally satisfactory.

The present invention is an improvement over injection valves of thetype wherein the gas is first discharged and then the injection is madethrough a separate passage.

In the present invention, a passage is formed by first providing a fixedclearance between the outer periphery of an elastic plate, and openingand closing a discharge passage between the a valve stem and the innerperipheral wall of a valve cylinder, by lowering the valve stem a fixeddistance. In injecting a gas, the valve stem is lowered a fixed distancewhile the injection passage of the valve stem is still closed by theelastic plate. The lowering of the valve stem is utilized to open thedischarge passage to first discharge the pressurizing gases in thestorage tank.

In discharging the pressurizing gases in the storage tank, as the valvestem is further lowered, the clearance of the discharging passage isnarrowed so that the pressurizing gases in the storage tank arecompressed by the piston like of the valve stem and are discharged intothe atmosphere quickly.

When the pressurizing gases in the storage tank have been thuscompletely discharged, the valve stem is further pushed down so that theelastic plate first contacts a stepped portion of the valve cylinder andis deflected to open the injecting passage of the valve stem, allowing aliquified gas to be injected through this passage.

In the accompanying drawing illustrating embodiments of the presentinvention:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are cross-sectional views taken on lines II-II and III Illrespectively in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view elevation of another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 butshowing the position of the parts during injection.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown in FIG. 1 a valve cylinderconsisting of an upper valve cylinder 2 and a lower valve cylinder 3.The upper valve cylinder 2 is provided with a groove 4 on its uppersurface. The groove 4 is adapted to receive a screw driver or the liketo screw or remove another threaded portion 8 into or out of a threadedportion 7 of fitting 6 formed on a storage tank 5. The numeral O-ring 9is held between fitting 6 of the storage tank 5 and a recessed portion10 of the upper valve cylinder 2 to prevent leakage of gas in thestorage tank 5. 11 is provided as a fitting for the upper end of thelower valve cylinder 3, and is formed at the lower end of the uppervalve cylinder 2 and provided with a groove 12 on the outer periphery tocompress and fit the opening at the upper end of the lower valvecylinder 3. A packing (not shown) is interposed therebetween at 14 toprevent gas leakage.

A stepped portion 15 is formed in cylinder 3 by inwardly compressing theouter periphery of the lower valve cylinder 3 substantially in themiddle. This stepped portion 15 defines a required distance 16 in thedesign from the lower end of the upper valve cylinder 2. This distance16 determines the time for discharging the pressurized gases in thestorage tank by connecting the interior of the storage tank with theatmosphere when the valve stem is pushed down. The numeral 17 designatesa small diameter cylindrical portions which forms the stepped portion15. The portion 17 is provided with holes 19 at regular intervals on theouter periphery near the bottom 18 so as to define passages for the gasin the storage tank.

The valve stem 20 includes a cylindrical stem 21 having a cylindricalbody 22 of a larger diameter formed integrally at the lower end. A smallpassage 25 is formed adjacent a groove 24 on the outer periphery in theportion connecting the shoulder part 23 of the cylindrical body 22 andthe cylindrical stem 21, and is connected with the lower portion of thecenter hole 26, made in the center of the cylindrical stem 21. Togetherthey form an injecting passage for a liquified gas. The numeral 27designates a resilient element or circular elastic plate made of anatural or artificial rubber material or synthetic resin fitted in thegroove 24 and forming a clearance 28 between its outer periphery 27 andthe inner periphery of the lower valve cylinder 3.

When the cylindrical stem 21 is pushed down,, the configuration of theelastic plate 27 does not vary until this elastic plate 27 contacts thestepped portion 15, and the passages 25 and 26 are kept closed. When theplate 27 contacts the stepped portion 15 after the cylindrical stem 21is further pushed down, the elastic plate 27 is deflated upwardly andthe passage 25 opens. A spiral spring 29 is fitted between the interiorof the cylindrical body 22 and the-bottom 18 of the lower valve cylinder3 to keep the valve stem 20 pushed up and to press the upper surface ofthe elastic plate 27 against the projecting peripheral edge 30 of thelower end of the upper valve cylinder2 to prevent the leakage of gas inthe storage tank 5. A needle valve 31 is fitted to the upper end of thecylindrical stem 21 of the injecting valve 20. The valve 31 is removableand is made of rubber in the part to be inserted into a parent bottle.An O-ring 32 serves as a packing for preventing leakage in case anordinary injecting tube is used in the injecting bottle. Thus when thevalve stem 20 is pushed down for injection, the O-ring 32 contacts andseals the inclined stepped lower portion of the valve cylinder 2 toprevent the leakage of injected gas.

The operation of the valve when injecting a. liquified gas is asfollows: The cylindrical stem 21 of the valve stem 20 is pushed down incontact with the injecting portion of the bottle. When it is pusheddown, the entire valve stem is pushed down and the clearance 28 betweenthe elastic plate 27 and the inner peripheral wall of the lower valvecylinder 3 is maintained such that the elastic plate 27 is loweredwithout being obstructed by the inner peripheral wall. If it lowers evenslightly, the upper surface of the elastic plate 27 and the annularprojection 30 at the lower end of the upper valve cylinder 2 separatefrom each other and the clearance 28 becomes a passage connected withthe atmosphere so that pressurizing gases such as the gasified expandedgas and expanded air in the storing tank 5 may be discharged. Thiscontinues until the lower surface of the elastic plate 27 contacts thestepped portion of the lower valve cylinder 3.

When the lower surface of the elastic plate 27 contacts the steppedportion 15, the passage is closed and the discharge stops. If the valvestem 26 is further pushed down, the elastic plate 27 opens in theportion of the groove 24 in the cylindrical stem 21 to open the passage25 so that the liquified gas may be injected through the center passage26.

Therefore, the gas can be injected quickly and completely when thepressurizing gases in the storage tank have been completely dischargedand the pressure in the bottle has become higher than the pressure inthe storage tank. When the O-ring 32 at the upper end of the valve stem21 is in contact with the inclined stepped portion 2' of the valvecylinder 2, the injected gas is prevented from leaking and therefore canbe completely injected into the fuel tank to be filled.

Particularly, in the discharge of the pressurizing gases in the storagetank, the discharge rate of the pressurizing gases in the storage tank 5is high in the passage defined by the clearance 33 between the outerperiphery of the cylindrical portion 22 and the inner periphery of thesmall diameter cylindrical portion 17. When this cylindrical portion 22is pushed down, it acts as a piston to compress the pressurizing gasesin the storage tank and to further accelerate the discharge. Further,the

opening 19 is gradually narrowed by the lowering of the cylindrical body22. Therefore, there is an acceleration of the discharge of thepressurizing gases in the same operation as the compression of thepressurizing gases. Thus, during the time the lower surface of theelastic plate 27 is being lowered, until it contacts the stepped portion15, the pressurizing gases can be completely discharged. This time canbe determined by selection of the length of the distance 16, thecapacity of the storage tank and the type of the liquified gas to beused.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment wherein the lower valve cylinder section103 is conical with its diameter tapering toward the lower end,otherwise there is no difference from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. Inthe embodiment of FIG. 4, the clearance 127 between the elastic plate127 and the inner periphery of the lower conical valve cylinder section103, along with the distance the outer peripheral surface of the elasticplate 127 travels before contacting the inner periphery of the lowerconical valve cylinder section 103, can also be predetermined in thedesign. In the same manner as described with reference to FIG. 1, thepressurizing gases in the storage tank 105 can be discharged. This lowerconical valve cylinder section 103 has an advantage in that it can beformed more easily than the lower valve cylinder section 3 in FIG. 1.Further when pushed down, the lower end of the cylindrical part 122contacts the bottom 118 acting to deflect the elastic plate 127.

With the injection valve formed as above, the passage for injectionremains closed for a fixed time after the valve stem is pushed down.After the pressurizing gases in the storage tank have been completelydischarged, the injecting passage opens. More particularly, the pas sagenarrows as the valve stem is pushed down and the cylindrical bodycompresses the pressurizing gases in the storage tank and acts as apiston to accelerate the discharge of the pressurizing gases. Therefore,the pressurizing gases can be discharged completely and quickly and theliquified gas can be positively injected. Further, according to thepresent invention there is provided an injection valve which has asimple overall structure, has few component parts, is easy to assemble,provides trouble-free operation, and may be mass produced inexpensively.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantageswill be understood from the foregoing description and it will beapparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction andarrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the formhereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. An injection valve for injecting liquified gas into a gas lighter ofthe type which is adapted to being mounted on a storage tank, whichcomprises: a valve cylinder having an upper section and a lower sectionhaving a plurality of different diameters; a passage communicating withsaid sections; separate passage communicating with the atmosphere; avalve stem having an injection passage therethrough and mounted in saidvalve cylinder so that a discharge passage is formed in an annular spacebetween said valve stem and said passage communicating with saidsections, said valve stem further comprising a lower portion positionedin said lower valve cylinder section which is in the shape of a hollowpiston open at its lower end, said valve stem being operable in saidvalve cylinder between a closed position, an intermediate dischargeposition and an'injection position, said lower piston portion of saidvalve stem being adapted to compress gases in a first portion of saidlower valve cylinder section having a smaller diameter than a secondportion, when said valve stem is in said intermediate position; meansfor blocking and opening said discharge passage comprising an annularresilient sealing ring located at the upper end of said valve stem andan inclined stepped portion in said upper cylinder, said ring beingadapted to engage said inclined stepped portion to contact and seal saiddischarge passage to prevent the escape of injected gas when said valvestem is in said injection position, and a resilient annular platelocated on said valve stem between said sealing ring and said pistonportion, said resilient annular plate being adapted to block saiddischarge passage when said valve stem is in said closed position; andmeans for opening and blocking said injection passage comprising saidresilient annular plate and said first portion of said lower cylinder,said resilient annular plate being adapted to engage said first portionand flex to thereby open said injection passage when said valve stem isin said injection position.

2. The injection valve of claim 1, wherein said lower with openings forthe passage of gas therethrough.

1. An injection valve for injecting liquified gas into a gas lighter ofthe type which is adapted to being mounted on a storage tank, whichcomprises: a valve cylinder having an upper section and a lower sectionhaving a plurality of different diameters; a passage communicating withsaid sections; separate passage communicating with the atmosphere; avalve stem having an injection passage therethrough and mounted in saidvalve cylinder so that a discharge passage is formed in an annular spacebetween said valve stem and said passage communicating with saidsections, said valve stem further comprising a lower portion positionedin said lower valve cylinder section which is in the shape of a hollowpiston open at its lower end, said valve stem being operable in saidvalve cylinder between a closed position, an intermediate dischargeposition and an injection position, said lower piston portion of saidvalve stem being adapted to compress gases in a first portion of saidlower valve cylinder section having a smaller diameter than a secondportion, when said valve stem is in said intermediate position; meansfor blocking and opening said discharge passage comprising an annularresilient sealing ring located at the upper end of said valve stem andan inclined stepped portion in said upper cylinder, said ring beingadapted to engage said inclined stepped portion to contact and seal saiddischarge passage to prevent the escape of injected gas when said valvestem is in said injection position, and a resilient annular platelocated on said valve stem between said sealing ring and said pistonportion, said resilient annular plate being adapted to block saiddischarge passage when said valve stem is in said closed position; andmeans for opening and blocking said injection passage comprising saidresilient annular plate and said first portion of said lower cylinder,said resilient annular plate being adapted to engage said first portionand flex to thereby open said injection passage when said valve stem isin said injection position.
 2. The injection valve of claim 1, whereinsaid lower valve cylinder section is compressively fitted to said uppervalve cylinder section.
 3. An Injection lower valve according to claim 1wherein said first and second sections of said valve cylinder aredefined by a wall member having a substantially continuous conicalconfiguration.
 4. An injection valve according to claim 1 wherein saidfirst section of said lower valve cylinder is provided with openings forthe passage of gas therethrough.